


Babygirl

by starrdxst



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Protective Joel (The Last of Us), joel being a dad, joel loving you as his own
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:27:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29893539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrdxst/pseuds/starrdxst
Summary: Joel comforts reader like a father figure
Relationships: Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us), Joel (The Last of Us)/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Babygirl

**Author's Note:**

> Additional Info: Hurt/Comfort, joel being a dad for you, joel gives the best bear hugs you could ever imagine, joel loving you as his own, papa joel with the long hair, this is so sweet <3
> 
> * this is short i apologize

It's a quiet night in Jackson. Most of the adults are at the 'dance' and all the children are in their homes tucked in bed all nice and warm. You didn't go to this dance because of last time. Seth wouldn't keep his mouth shut and ended up being scolded by Maria after Joel almost hit him. Watching Joel stand up for Ellie and Dina warmed your heart. He was obviously pissed off but kept his soft spoken voice for Ellie to see if she was okay after the fact. It hurt you to see Ellie be so mean to him. The look in his eyes before he walked off was just awful.

It hurt because you look up to Joel like a father figure. When you found Jackson with your previous group, you immediately attached yourself to him after he began teaching you all you know to this day. How to shoot a gun, how to prep meals out in the woods, how to stay strong and to never give up.

Joel was more of a father to you than your biological one. Your real dad always had something mean to say, always scolded you for the smallest of things - he was never happy with anything you did. Joel liked to remind you of how proud he was of you whenever you did something well or improved on a skill. Joel always checked on you regularly like he would for Ellie and that made your attachment even worse. Honestly, you're scared of losing him. Of course losing people is inevitable but losing him meant losing everything you know. You're truly alone and lost without his guidance and stupid dad jokes. Tonight you pushed yourself to walk over to his home and talk to him. Open up about everything and tell him how much he means to you, especially after what happened between him and Ellie. He needs to know he still has someone who loves him unconditionally and unapologetically.

Soft music can be heard the closer you get to his home. You smile knowing exactly what it is. Around this time every night Joel likes to sit on his porch and play his guitar - his freetime spent enjoying the music. You never heard him sing or play a cover, only the originals he made. It made you happy that Joel trusted you enough to share his own songs with you.

You find yourself at his porch steps with a shy grin - his face lighting up at the sight of you. He respectfully places his guitar to the side to focus on whatever you may need to talk to him about. Another thing Joel did that your father never did: He listens to you.

"Hey," Joel's voice is low but soft, his behavior way more off guard and relaxed. He then stands up and walks over to you, opening his arms.

Joel knows you well enough to know that whenever you go to him, you're always wanting a hug but too scared to ask. It makes him question why you're scared but never pushes you to give an answer.

"You doin' alright?"

You sigh and nod nuzzling your head into his chest, his tan jacket bringing you more warmth. Tears sting the corners of your eyes and you squeeze him a little more. You can feel him chuckle and pat your back lovingly.

Joel pulls away thinking you just needed an extra hug but his soft grin quickly fades when he sees your face. You look to the ground immediately, you don't want to cry in front of him. You never have until now.

Suddenly you feel a hand pat your shoulder and you watch Joel open his door and invite you in, his head tilting towards the sofa in his living room. It has dim lighting and you're thankful. If you're gonna open up to him at least he won't be able to see you cry like this. Not that he would judge you - it's just out of your comfort zone. He understands that.

Joel sits on one end and you sit across from him playing with your fingers anxiously.

"You wanna tell me what's goin' on before I start to worry more?" Joel mumbles calmly, his stare gentle and patient.

You shrug and shake your head. He has nothing to worry about and it warms your heart that he's already so involved with helping you.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm thankful you're in my life. You basically raised me since I've been here.. I never had a dad like you."

The words slipped out naturally. It's what you felt deep down. It was only after you said it that you began to panic. Joel was silent and that fed your anxiety. Did you come across as insensitive? Too emotional?

Joel didn't know what to say even though your words absolutely tugged at his heart. He wasn't the best with showing how he feels but he does know that you being in his life since you were only twelve and now you being almost seventeen definitely had a significant impact.

Joel cared for you. Kept you safe. Lectured you about patrols. Made sure you ate before he even got a taste of food. Always gave you his last everything - just like he does with Ellie. From the outside it's obvious who you are to him. Tommy and several other people always reference you and Ellie as 'the girls' or 'joels girls' - it wasn't hard to tell that Joel took you under his wing like a father would.

It just wasn't until now that it's been voiced to one another, almost like admitting to each other that the father-daughter dynamic is there.

Joel clears his throat before giving you a response, "You don't have to thank me for lookin' out for you. I made a promise."

Feeling curious, you furrow your brows and tilt your head slightly, "What was it?"

Joel looks like he's remembering a sweet memory by the soft smile he has - and he most certainly was remembering something.

"When you were young, you asked if I could adopt you after this was all over," Joel sighs quietly having yet another realization that the world can't and won't be fixed but carries on with the conversation. "I suppose here is the best place to do that, don't you think?"

You widen your eyes for two reasons: one because you feel silly for asking that years ago when it was obvious the world wasn't going to be the way it was before. Two: you're genuinely surprised at his welcoming reaction to this. You almost expected Joel to push you away like he did with Ellie. She told you all about their relationship and how it was never easy. Maybe being in Jackson with his family helped Joel lighten up and be more compassionate.

To answer his question you give a quick nod and get up from your spot to sit closer to him. He wraps his arm around you and pulls you to his chest for another hug - this time not letting go until you want to. You've been needing this for a long time so you take advantage of the moment and keep yourself in his safe arms. You eventually ended up falling asleep because he rubbed your back and talked to you - the deep rumble in his chest pulling you to peaceful state of mind.

Even if you were old enough to be woken up and told to walk back your own place - Joel carefully carried you to the more spacious couch and tucked you in quietly, turning off the lights after covering you with a warm blanket. It wasn't often that he had company over since Ellie basically left him. Joel felt so appreciated and loved that he could cry. He'd do anything for his babygirls - one of them always being you.


End file.
